We're getting ever closer to the point where we're gonna lose some of the world's best songwriters and that makes me sad. As the old guard--your Dylans, Cohens, Lightfoots, Mitchells (Joni, not Kim), and Youngs--enter the twiight of their lives, I'm left wondering who's gonna fill their shoes and bend words so far, they take on a whole new meaning.
When I hear Toronto's Ryan Driver, the future seems all right, like maybe the likes of Willie Nelson may have six or seven more decades in him after all. Known as an inventive musician, drawn to eccentric sounds and playfully unconventional instrumentation, Driver's let his country heart shine through on his last couple of remarkable albums for the Rat-drifting imprint. His latest is called Who's Breathing? and it's hands down, one of the most striking records I've heard in 2010. I hereby present you with Exhibit A; please enjoy Ryan Driver with the optimistically mournful, "Dead End Street."